Who were some fighters who were great, but their fellow fighters hated them? I say Robinson. I know Basilio and Fullmer hated him, but who else?
Ike Williams didn't like Robinson. I heard that Packey McFarland could be a bit of a surly cad (unnecessarily) with opponents. Reporters didn't dig Chuck Wiggins too much. Here's an interesting short article: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zgkbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LkoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1452,2700016
Entourage that were there just because he was a super star aside, just about anybody who dealt with Robinson didn't like him. Just about all reports indicate that he was not only arguably the greatest fighter to ever lace up the gloves, he was also arguably one of the biggest jackasses to ever lace up the gloves, too. Arrogant, wife beater, difficult to work with, demanding, egotistical, snotty, and several other less than admiral personality traits are the person Robinson was all rolled up into one.
No excuses for the wife beating thing. That seemed to be part of the culture back then. Lamotta was another one. I will excuse Robinson for somethings considering the times he lived in, dealt with, and what he represented to the people who were his fans. That aside, he was not very well liked, although I am tempted to think there was a little jealous there. Muhammad Ali had to be hated by his opponents. All he did was put down his opponents.
JPL 6 Hi, JP - Re Muhammad Ali being hated by fellow opponents...i do wonder.. If they could take the usually ( if your names not Frazier !) tongue-in-cheek ribbing, they probably knew that they were going to get their best payday...and not get too hurt in the process...i could imagine many a prospective opponent preferring a bit of a boxing lesson then risk getting Chewed up by Frazier or brutally battered by Foreman, ...I think behind the halabaloo Ali might of been welcomed in the other corner ?? I think i read somewhere, many years ago that Gene Tunney as seen by contemporaries as rather "Aloof" - however he was an educated man and by many accounts a deep thinker, which probably set him somewhat apart.
not a great fighter by no means but herbie hide apparently is a huuggggee ******* who isnt very popular with the other pros. He picked a fight with a welterweight back in the day when barry hearn had a stable of fighters who all trained together. A guy i know who was a pro then and present when it happened,told me this story years ago and said non of the other fighters had any time for him
He deeply hurt Frazier, humilated Patterson and Terrell for not calling him Ali. Called Joe Louis an uncle Tom which hurt and bothered Joe. Kind of ticks me off too...that side of Ali.
Maybe, to some degree, Larry Holmes would fit the bill with several of his contemporaries.Also Floyd Mayweather comes to mind.
Ike Ibeabuchi was a nutcase who I believe stamped on and broke Ezra Sellers's leg in a sparring match, simply because he refused to take off his wedding ring. He was in training for a fight at the time. I don't think Ike could have been very popular in the Sellers's household after that.
I'm not sure about Holmes, he has a lot of friends in the boxing world. Among his best are Gerry Cooney, Joe Frazier (until Frazier's death), Roberto Duran, and Muhammad Ali. He's also very friendly with Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns.
How anybody actually rates Muhammed Ali as a human is unbelievable, he was a serial racist... I'm mixed race myself and i still think hes a dick for the things he said, he borrowed money of Frazier then abused him, he had countless wives and he spoke of himself as a god... Being a great boxer doesnt make you a great human, no matter how many wars he fought. R.I.P Joe Frazier.
Yes and no. Ali was ultimately a complex character. He could be gentle and compasionate, but he could also work himself into a frenzy of self endorsment!
